A Lady Who Accused Musician Conor Oberst of Rape Now Says She Made It All Up

In the face of a million dollar lawsuit, she 's apologized and says she just wanted attention.

Jul 15, 2014

Phil Bourne / Redferns

Seven months after posting accusations of rape against musician Conor Oberst online, 27-year-old Joan Harris (otherwise known as Joanie Faircloth) has recanted her claims, admitting that she made her story up "for attention."

Writing as Faircloth, she left comments on an XOJane "It Happened to Me" article titled "I Dated a Famous Rock Star & All I Got Was Punched in the Face" last December. Alongside the article's author's claims that she'd been assaulted by a famous musician, Harris wrote in a series of comments that Oberst had raped her following a Bright Eyes concert in 2003, when she was 16. The comments have since been deleted from XOJane, but of course live on in other parts of the Internet. Via this Tumblr, for example:

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

I was raped by a "rock star" myself. I was 16 years old, he was in his 20s. No one believed me (he wasn't even that famous then). No one believed me because I had been his biggest fan for several years at that point, his pictures covered my locker, etc. I guess when I made the accusation, everyone thought it was some sick & twisted way to get… I don't know, closer to him?

I became a huge fan of Conor's music and for my 16th birthday, Bright Eyes was playing a local show and my old english teacher (Conor's brother) arranged for me to go and meet Conor after the show as a birthday present of sorts. Conor definitely took advantage of my teenage crush on him. At first, I was flattered when he was playing with my hair and had his hand on my leg. It was like my dream come true at that point. But then he clearly wanted to go further and I made it very clear and told him I was a virgin and wasn't prepared to change that right then but he didn't stop. It was a really fucked up way to realize that people you idolize and look up to so much can be shitty, terrible people... Conor took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity and self esteem but also the only "father figure" and man I had ever really fully trusted.

Harris later embellished her story further on a Tumblr of her own, XOJaneCommenter. As Jezebel notes in a lengthy examination of her case, she wrote of her surprise when the accusations spread so fast and so wildly, adding that she had "considered xoJane a 'safe community' where she could share stories with 'one or two other commenters.'" But that's just not how the Internet works anymore.

Oberst quickly issued a statement denying the allegations, and in February filed a libel suit against Harris — arguing her comments were clearly defamatory. (Oberst's band Desaparecidos canceled a tour of Australia back in February; TMZ recently reported he believes he lost $200,000 in payments/contracted fees related to his recent album as a result of the case's negative publicity.) In their filing, his lawyers wrote that Harris's story was "unequivocally false," and that "the only connection between Oberst and Faircloth was one of artist and fan." As legal proceedings got underway, Harris remained a no-show in court; Jezebel's piece also notes the dissection of Harris's accusations, as details began to unravel under the Internet's closer examination.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

And Tuesday, Oberst's representatives released a statement confirming Harris admitted her story's fabrication via SPIN. In a notarized statement of her own, Harris wrote:

"The statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100 percent false. I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son's illness. I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst and sincerely apologize to him, his family and his fans for writing such awful things about him. I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I'm truly sorry for all the pain that I caused."

Oberst, who had previously argued her lies were "an insult to the millions of actual rape victims around the world," has made no further comment.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Cosmopolitan participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.